In an email sent to Politico on Wednesday, former EPA chief Lisa Jackson said that she was thrilled to be joining Apple where she will help coordinate all of the company's environmental initiatives.

I'm incredibly impressed with Apple's commitment to the environment and I'm thrilled to be joining the team.

Apple has shown how innovation can drive real progress by removing toxics from its products, incorporating renewable energy in its data center plans and continually raising the bar for energy efficiency in the electronics industry. I look forward to helping support and promote these efforts, as well as leading new ones in the future aimed at protecting the environment.

News that Jackson was set to join Apple first broke when Tim Cook spilled the beans during Tuesday evening's AllThingsD interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.

Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple's biggest challenges as it continues to grow.

Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now.